How Wes Streeting will make or break Starmer

Coffee House Shots

The Spectator

News, Politics, Government, Daily News

4.4 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 April 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Michael Gove and Katy Balls join James Heale to discuss their interview with the Health Secretary Wes Streeting included in this week’s special Easter edition of The Spectator. Michael identifies three key reasons why Streeting’s fate is key to the success of the government: immigration, the cost-of-living crisis and faith in the NHS. Seen as the ‘golden child’ of Number 10, Streeting has as many supporters in the Labour party as he has detractors – but his Blairite-coded image could help him take the fight to Reform.

Also on the podcast, Michael, Katy and James discuss Nigel Farage’s progress in the local election campaign. Plus, as this is Katy’s last podcast with Michael and James keep listening to the end for an ‘easter egg’ from Michael – as well as why black cabs make the best podcast studios.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Spectator magazine is home to wonderful writing, insightful analysis, and unrivaled books and arts reviews.
0:06.1	Subscribe today for just £12 and receive a 12-week subscription in print and online.
0:11.2	Alongside that, you get a 20-pound John Lewis or Waitrose Voucher.
0:14.7	Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher.
0:30.3	Hello and welcome to coffee house shots.
0:33.4	I'm James Hill and I'm joined today by Katie Balls and Michael Gove.
0:39.8	Now, in this week's Spectator, the special Easter edition, both Katie and Michael sat down for an interview with the West Streeting the Health Secretary.
0:41.5	Katie, what were the top lines from it?
0:42.4	The top lines.
0:46.9	Well, it was quite an expansive interview in the sense that we talked about NHS reform.
0:52.4	He talked about, you know, a big shake-up, about the need for devolution and so forth.
0:54.8	But then he also talked about his faith,
0:59.1	how Christianity was something he had found not really through his parents.
1:02.6	If anything, it had to push to be baptized, go church and so forth.
1:06.0	But then as he came to terms of his homosexuality,
1:08.5	he then felt further away from God and then had since come back thanks to Justin Welby amongst others.
1:12.1	And then we also got onto Game of Thrones.
1:15.2	And I think one of the lines that's been picked up is West Streeting has been facing a
1:19.5	threat in his seat from pro-Gaza independence.
1:22.6	His majority is only about 500.
1:25.0	He almost had the fate of Jonathan Ashworth on election night, you know,
1:29.0	someone who's expected to have a big job in cabinet and lost to a pro-Garza independent.
	...

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